OUCCC vs Chalgrove

at Chalgrove, June 13th 2004

The biggest winning margin, in the long memories of Chalky and Bumby at least, of 222 runs was achieved against Chalgrove through a number of subtle but clever captaincy decisions, possibly missed by the team, of which this match report shall outline. First came the decision to reduce the match to 35 overs due to football constraints. As Watto pointed out in one of his clearer moments the fewer overs you have in a game the more runs you can score. Secondly another toss win (of course!) ensured that we were saved from fielding during the mid afternoon heat and that the record short game of last season was avoided. A carefully selected batting line up meant that a full 10 players were used in reaching our total of 301/9. Chalky hit a tidy 38, the new boy Jaziz a masterful 47 and Watto, now the rock of the middle order, a cultivated 38. A middle order collapse was compensated for by the carefully selected partnership of the season between Deb and Wiesner who gave a masterclass in power hitting to score 31 and 58 (not out) respectively. When I asked Deb who he wanted following him in at number 8 he did not hesitate in stating that 'Wiesner's the man for me'. I overlooked the obvious question, but later on Deb did explain that he was looking for a partner who would play defensively and hold up an end! Needless to say this is a classic example of a Captain making the players feel involved in the decision making process. A good tea, and a quick turnaround saw 7 bowlers used in the process of dismissing Charlgrove for 79. Despite the expressions of disbelief from some senior players I knew that the key to success on a sand pit of a bowling track lay with the spinners. I was fully vindicated by the performance of Adrian in taking 3/32 off 4 overs.
So, despite a failure with the bat and only one wicketless over, I take full responsibility for such a fine all round OUCCC performance.

SD

Fines: Dropped Catches: Deb, Chalky, Hamad, Benson, Bujca, Jaziz

Missed Stumping: Watto

Having to call back the batsmen for appealing while ball still only halfway down the track: Watto